I’m Katie Thornburrow. I’ve lived in Cambridge for over thirty years, many of them in Trumpington, working as an architect with my own practice in central Cambridge, specialising in sustainability and the care of older buildings. I’ve also been involved in building social housing in Cambridge, and know how important it is to get it right.
I believe in sharing my expertise, and have taught architecture for adult education classes at Long Road and helped teach design skills at six primary schools, as well as taking school students on work experience in my office. I also helped the local Buddhist Centre improve their facilities.
I’m very concerned about how we get good, nutritious food and the importance of the food supply system, and I’m a member of Cambridge Sustainable Food which campaigns on these issues. There are too few places for people to shop for affordable food in Trumpington, and it’s one of the issues I’ll take up if elected. I also know that when the traffic is bad, it can really make your life difficult, and I’ll work hard to fix the congestion and transport issues that Trumpington faces.
I joined Labour to make a difference, and as executive councillor for planning policy and open spaces in Cambridge I’ve been able to do an enormous amount, improving the planning service, developing our food policy, responding to the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and helping develop our next Cambridge and South Cambs local plan. I’ve also been part of the team dealing with the current pandemic.
After a year’s work on the local plan, I know we can do something remarkable. Something that can help achieve net zero carbon, improve the way we live and work, and transform communities while tackling inequality.
Katie’s brief has now changed and as of June 2021 she is Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Transport, having covered Streets and Open Spaces 2018-2019 and Planning Policy and Open Spaces 2019-2021